Writers: Steven Tyler and Joe Perry
Producers: Jack Douglas and Aerosmith
Recorded: Summer 1977 at the Record Plant in New York City
Released: December 1977
| Players: | Steven Tyler–vocals, keyboards Joe Perry–guitar, vocals Brad Whitford–guitar Tom Hamilton–bass Joey Kramer–drums |
| Album: | Draw The Line (Columbia, 1977) |
The title track of Aerosmith's fifth album, “Draw The Line” peaked at Number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Singer-guitarist Joe Perry says the song contains “one of my favorite riffs that I ever wrote. It's a simple thing, but so are most of the ones that stick to you.”
The Draw The Line album reached Number 11 on the Billboard 200–a sharp comedown from its predecessor, Rocks, which had peaked at Number Three.
Nevertheless, Draw The Line went on to sell more than two million copies.
The album, which cost $1 million to record, was a troubled project. Drug use was taking its toll on the group, particularly the chief songwriting team of Perry and lead singer Steven Tyler. “I started getting so screwed up that getting f—ed-up seemed more important than getting f—ed,” Tyler recalled.
When recording for the album began at The Cenacle, an abandoned 300-room convent in Armonk, New York, Tyler and Perry would disappear for hours and days at a time–in addition to drug intake, Perry would spend time shooting guns and riding his motorcycle. “Steve and Joe just weren't around,” recalled guitarist Brad Whitford. “They were locked in their rooms consuming whatever they were consuming.”
Reflecting on that time, Perry noted that “The Beatles made their white album; we made our black-out album.”
